Mass cytometry as a platform for the discovery of cellular biomarkers to guide effective rheumatic disease therapy

The development of biomarkers for autoimmune diseases has been hampered by a lack of understanding of disease etiopathogenesis and of the mechanisms underlying the induction and maintenance of inflammation, which involves complex activation dynamics of diverse cell types. The heterogeneous nature and suboptimal clinical response to treatment observed in many autoimmune syndromes highlight the need to develop improved strategies to predict patient outcome to therapy and personalize patient care. Mass cytometry, using CyTOF®, is an advanced technology that facilitates multiparametric, phenotypic analysis of immune cells at single-cell resolution. In this review, we outline the capabilities of mass cytometry and illustrate the potential of this technology to enhance the discovery of cellular biomarkers for rheumatoid arthritis, a prototypical autoimmune disease.